After the first confirmed outbreaks in Guinea in March, the Ebola virus has continued to spread to a number of other West African countries, with hundreds of deaths already recorded and more new cases being reported.

The UK Club has produced the following information, linked below, which it hopes will aid Members in dealing with the consequences of this outbreak, both from practical health and commercial perspectives.

The Club produced Bulletin 956 in March, when the first cases of Ebola were reported. Since then, the virus has spread within West African countries such as Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Isolated cases are being reported in Europe, the Far East and the Americas.

While the Ebola virus represents a very serious threat to human health, the risk of transmission is relatively low. It is mainly transmitted through contact with bodily fluids rather than by airborne means. As long as effective and sensible precautions are taken, the risk of contracting the disease can be minimalized.

This Club advice seeks to highlight the practical issues of identifying, preventing and treating the virus. This will be followed with further information as matters develop.

A section on the UK P&I Club Loss Prevention website has been created to combine all related advice into a single place and can be found here.